Red Bulls name Ali Curtis as club's new Sporting Director

HARRISON, NJ (December 23, 2014) – The New York Red Bulls announced on Tuesday that Ali Curtis has been named the club’s new Sporting Director effective immediately.

Curtis will be responsible for all soccer activities at the club, including player acquisition and scouting, oversight of the coaching staff, technical staff and youth development as well as management of the soccer operations budget and salary cap.

A key component to Curtis’s acquisition will be the use of data analytics and performance analysis in nearly all aspects of player personnel, team performance and week-to-week preparations.

“We’re very pleased to add Ali to our team ahead of the 2015 season,” said General Manager Marc de Grandpre. “As a former player and league executive, Ali brings a wealth of MLS knowledge to the Sporting Director position and we’re excited to bring him on board.”

Before joining the Red Bulls, Curtis spent seven seasons with MLS between Player Relations and Competition and as the Special Assistant to the Office of the Commissioner. Most recently, Curtis was the Senior Director of Player Relations and Competition where his key responsibilities included overseeing MLS club budgets, negotiating over 200 player contracts per year, leading key areas of renegotiation of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and leading the MLS Player Development Committee.

Curtis also supervised the MLS Homegrown Player Program, which has resulted in 20-40 signings per year and was responsible for the league-to-league strategic partnership that led to the MLS/USL PRO Club affiliations.

Along with over seven years of experience in MLS, Curtis worked as an analyst for JP Morgan Chase Private Bank from 2004-2007 in Chicago and Los Angeles prior to joining the league.

A former MLS player himself, Curtis was the second overall pick in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The forward spent four seasons in MLS with the Mutiny, D.C. United and FC Dallas (formerly the Dallas Burn). In four seasons, Curtis made 65 total appearances (35 starts) while scoring nine goals and adding eight assists.

Curtis is a graduate of Duke University where we was a standout college player and earned the 1999 Hermann and the 2000 MAC Award as the nation’s best player.